Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov rallied from third place after the short program to secure the gold medal at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2026 in Beijing, China, on Saturday.

The two-time and reigning U.S. champions nearly set a new international personal best overall score with 205.34 points, just 0.15 points off their best of 205.34 set at 2025 Finlandia Trophy, en route to the title.

This marks the fourth time in the last four years that a U.S. pairs team has stood on the podium at Four Continents.

Except for problems with their side-by-side triple toe loops early in the program, Efimova and Mitrofanov performed a sterling routine to "Where Do I Begin (Love Story)" by Gary Valenciano.

Right before that miscue, they landed a triple Salchow-double Axel-double Axel sequence that produced an event-high element score of 11.33 points.

Other program highlights included a two Level 4 lifts, a Level 4 pairs combination spin and a Level 4 forward outside death spiral.

They received the top program components score of the free skate of 64.99, and posted a free skate score of 133.49, 6.25 points more than the second place team.

In their Four Continents debut, Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman placed sixth in the free skate and sixth overall with scores of 121.44 and 181.12, respectively.

The reigning U.S. bronze medalists, performing to "Caruso" by Lara Fabian, skated a clean program except for a fall on their double flip-double Axel sequence.

They received Level 4s for four elements: two lifts, forward inside death spiral and pairs combination spin. They also executed two solid throws.

Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy finished seventh in the free skate and seventh overall with scores of 113.29 and 176.40, respectively. This marks their highest finish at the event after placing 11th in 2025.

Performing to "Two Men in Love" by The Irrepressibles, Shin and Nagy overcame some early troubles with their jumping passes to skate a good program.

Two Level 4 lifts, a Level 4 pairs combination spin and two well-executed throws were program highlights.

Tomoki Hiwatashi, competing at his sixth Four Continents Championships, delivered a nearly clean performance in his Lynyrd Skynyrd "Free Bird" short program.

Fifth at the 2026 U.S. Championships, Hiwatashi opened with his highest-scoring element at 10.59 points – a quad toe loop – followed by a triple Axel and finished with two Level 4 spins.

The 2020 U.S. bronze medalist finished eighth in the segment with 80.88 points.

Jacob Sanchez, the reigning U.S. pewter medalist, placed 11th in the short program with his expressive short program to music from the French film "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg."

The 2024 Junior Grand Prix Final champion began his routine with a big triple Axel and earned Level 4s on two of his spins. He posted a score of 78.57.

Liam Kapeikis finished 12th with 76.72 points. Performing to the classic "Unchained Melody," he earned Level 4s for all three spins and his triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination generated a program-high 11.87 points.

Competition concludes Sunday with the men's free skate.

To see the full schedule, results and more, visit the Four Continents Competition Central.